These meatballs in tomato sauce are the perfect quick and easy dinner. Juicy and tender homemade meatballs cooked in a simple rustic Italian-style tomato sauce. They're easy to make and only use ingredients from Aldi!
These meatballs are so easy and quick enough to make on a weeknight, but they're special and cosy enough to make for a casual Sunday dinner too. Dry meatballs are a thing of the past with some simple tips and a gorgeous recipe. Cooking the meatballs in the sauce helps them stay moist and tender and infuses them with so much flavour.
A great meatball consists of 2 crucial elements:
- texture
- flavour
So, for these meatballs, we're using a mix of beef and pork. Pork brings so much flavour to the mix and some fat. The fat is crucial to keep the meatballs moist and for that rich flavour. The egg and some milk help to bind it all together.
Quick & Easy Pork Meatballs
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Ingredients needed for homemade meatballs
- pork and beef mince mixed
- egg
- milk
- fresh rosemary
- dried oregano
- Italian style herbs
- pasta mix
- Grana Padano (parmesan) cheese
For the sauce
- passata
- red onion
- tomato puree
- garlic
How to make meatballs in tomato sauce
- Make the meatball mix, by placing the mince and add in the herbs, the egg and a splash of milk. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, gently mix and form into meatballs. The key to keeping the mince from going tough is being gentle when you roll the meatballs.
- Using milk is the secret to getting juicy, moist meatballs every single time making them light and spongy.
- The next step is mixing your meat mixture until the ingredients are just incorporated with your hands. Full pieces of ground meat should still be visible.
- Roll your meatballs with lightly oiled hands to prevent the meat from sticking to your fingers, while adding a little extra moisture into each meatball.
- Heat some oil in a pan for browning the meatballs. We just fry them quickly to get colour on them and to form a golden crust and they finish cooking in the sauce. I used a nonstick skillet for this, but you can use a high sided regular skillet and make the sauce in it too.
- Once the meatballs are browned all the way around remove them from the pan and set onto a baking tray. You may need to do this in batches to brown all the meatballs. This recipe makes 20 meatballs.
- To make the sauce, heat some oil in a pan and soften the onion and garlic on medium heat. Add in some thyme and the tomato puree. Give it all a good stir and add in the passata. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
Storing, freezing and reheating meatballs
You'll more than likely have leftover meatballs. This recipe makes 20, and they are filling. To freeze them, simply let them cool down completely in the sauce once they're cooked through. Divide the meatballs evenly between containers and spoon the sauce over top. The meatballs and tomato sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, defrost the meatballs in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a couple of hours and heat in the microwave until hot all the way through. Or, reheat in a pan on the hob (stove) until the meatballs are hot and the sauce is bubbling.
Variations
If you're really wanting to elevate these meatballs then you can make them as directed then cover with the shredded mozzarella (may I suggest the whole pack) and place under the grill for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted, brown and bubbling.
What to serve with meatballs in tomato sauce
Let's be honest. We're all thinking the same thing. Giant tangles of steaming pasta noodles. But these meatballs would be amazing served with a big salad and a large loaf of crusty bread.
More easy dinner recipes
Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- For the meatballs
- 750 g (1 ⅔ lb) minced beef & pork mix
- 1 (1) egg
- 100 ml (⅖ cups) milk
- 2 tablespoon (2 tablespoon) dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) dried basil
- 3 teaspoons (3 teaspoons) Italian pasta mix
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Italian herb mix
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) chopped fresh rosemary
- 50 g (½ cups) Grana Padano, grated
- For the sauce
- 1 (1) red onion, chopped
- 4 cloves (4 cloves) garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) tomato puree
- 1 (1) carton passata
Instructions
- Make the meatball mix, by placing the mince in a large bowl. Add in the herbs, the egg, cheese and the milk. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, gently mix and form into meatballs.
- The next step is mixing your meat mixture until the ingredients are just incorporated with your hands. Full pieces of ground meat should still be visible. Roll the meatballs with lightly oiled hands to prevent the meat from sticking to your fingers, while adding a little extra moisture into each meatball.
- Heat some oil in a pan for browning the meatballs. We just fry them quickly to get colour on them and to form a golden crust and they finish cooking in the sauce. I used a nonstick skillet for this, but you can use a high sided regular skillet and make the sauce in it too.
- Once the meatballs are browned all the way around remove them from the pan and set onto a baking tray. You may need to do this in batches to brown all the meatballs. This recipe makes 20 meatballs.
- To make the sauce, heat some oil in a pan and soften the onion and garlic on medium heat. Add in some thyme and the tomato puree. Give it all a good stir and add in the passata. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
Notes
Nutrition
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!
Dave Chappell
Hi Deborah - can you substitute the beef/pork for Turkey mince in this recipe?
Deborah Rainford
Hi Dave. You absolutely can. Turkey has a lower fat content, so your meatballs will have a little bit less moisture. To add some of that back, you can add an extra egg if you like. But they will absolutely work with turkey mince, no problem.
Francis dormer
very well explained looking forward to trying you recipe.thanks
Deborah Rainford
Thank you so much Francis! 🙂
Kirsten
I only made the sauce part of your recipe as I'm a vegetarian. I served the sauce with Beyond Meat meatballs, vegetarian cheese and fresh basil. Best sauce I've ever had for pasta and I've tried many! And yes, (almost) all the ingredients were from Aldi lol. Thankyou so much for this recipe and considering cost of living as it is. 🙂
Deborah Rainford
Amazing! So happy that you adapted it to exactly what you need and that it was a hit! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and a review. It's much appreciated. 🙂
Olivia Tatrai
Very good and recipe. Can you make it without the cheese? If so, will it have the same consistency and taste?
Deborah Rainford
Hi Olivia, the texture of the meatballs will be very similar. You won't notice much difference. Flavour wise, the dish may not be as rich, but if you season the sauce and the meatballs well, it will more than make up for the lack of cheese.
Gail maxey
Fabulously scrumptious dish, will definitely be cooking again. Very many thanks Gail
Deborah Rainford
Thanks so much, Gail. And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating. It's very appreciated. 🙂
william Gibbons
Only 2 tablespoons of purée for an entire batch of spaghetti and meatballs? That must be a misprint.
Deborah Rainford
Hi William. Not a misprint. You only need two tablespoons of tomato puree because the recipe also requires 500ml of tomato passata. You can use more puree if you like, but that usually results in a sauce that is too bitter and needs to be neutralized with a little bit of sugar. The role of the puree in this recipe is to enrich and thicken the sauce. Hope that helps to clarify for you. 🙂
Miss Toni M Ryan
Is it okay to skip baking the meatballs and just simmer them in the sauce for longer? If so how long would they need to simmer to be cooked please?
Deborah Rainford
Absolutely you can. Let them simmer for about 20 minutes. Be sure to turn them in the sauce a couple of times so that they cook evenly. After 20 minutes check them using a meat thermometer or cut one open and check that they are cooked through. They may need another 5 minutes or so. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Ali
These meatballs were absolutely amazing! Super easy to make and so full of flavour.
Deborah Rainford
So happy you loved them, Ali! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. It's much appreciated. 🙂
Janna
I just tried this recipe on a whim this week. Normally I buy meatballs and tomato sauce but wanted to try making it healthier. These were incredible! Thank you.
Deborah Rainford
So happy that this recipe was a hit! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating. It's very appreciated. 🙂
Shawna
These meatballs are so good! Easy to make and that sauce is so rich and hearty.
Deborah Rainford
So happy you like them! 🙂
Carla Ellen Bishop
What are the measurements for this recipe?
Deborah Rainford
The recipe card is at the bottom of the page with all the measurements and recipe notes. 🙂
Gina
I make this recipe almost every week. The entire family loves it and that's not easy to do! Thanks!
Deborah Rainford
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating. It's much appreciated! 🙂
Dawn
Such a quick recipe for a midweek dinner, went down well with family.
Deborah Rainford
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating. It's so appreciated! Happy that everyone loved it.
Julia
Such a great easy recipe! My family absolutely loved these. Will definitely be making these a lot over the winter! Thank you.
Deborah Thompson
Love hearing this Julia! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and a review.